Derren Teran of Indio sentenced in fatal DUI

Victor Regalado Jr., 18, was killed at this site March 3, 2013. Friends have set up a memorial at the crash site on Adams Street, just north of 40th Avenue in Indio. Derren Teran has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
(Photo:
The Desert Sun
)

A La Quinta High School graduate was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation for driving under the influence of alcohol and causing a crash that killed his friend in March 2013.

Darren Teran pleaded guilty in Riverside County Superior Court to charges that included one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two counts of driving under the influence causing injury.

He faced enhancements that included driving more than 30 miles over the speed limit and having a blood alcohol content greater than 0.15.

Teran, 19, stood silently as Superior Court Judge William Lebov read the charges and explained the terms of probation, which could send him to prison for up to 12 years if they're violated.

Teran's attorney, John Patrick Dolan, said after the hearing that it was only appropriate for Teran to receive probation, since investigators determined he had no criminal record and was remorseful following the crash that killed Victor Regalado Jr., 18, on March 3, 2013.

But after the hearing, Regalado's mother — Yolanda Vasquez, 37, of Indio — said she wasn't happy with Tuesday's ruling.

"I don't think justice was served," she said.

In this 2013 file video, Yolanda Vasquez, mother of Indio collision victim Victor Regalado Jr., tells the public "I don't wish this pain on anyone." She also sympathizes with the families of everyone involved.

During the hearing, Vasquez read a statement and blasted Teran. Vasquez wanted to face him while she read it, but Lebov asked her to face him instead.

Teran lowered his face as a tearful Vasquez admonished him for driving drunk and killing her son on her wedding anniversary.

"I wish it was all a dream," she said in court.

Under the terms of probation, Teran's drivers license will be revoked. He's not allowed to drink alcohol or enter bars or liquor stores.

He also needs to pay restitution for an amount that is to be determined.

"It was all concluded that this is the right person to give probation to," Dolan said. "I think he'll make it through (probation), probably without any trouble."

In this file video from March 2013, Victor Regalado Jr.'s family (mother, father and stepfather) speak to The Desert Sun. They explain who Victor, the Indio crash victim, was and why he was liked so much amongst his peers.

Last year, Teran crashed his Jeep at Adams Street and Avenue 40 in Indio.

Regalado, a Shadow Hills High School senior, was thrown from the vehicle. He later died at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio.

Two girls who were in the Jeep suffered injuries.

According to court documents, Teran and Regalado met friends at a convenience store on Monroe Street in Indio. One of them believed Teran was impaired and offered to drive, but Teran declined.

Teran, Regalado and the two girls got into the Jeep and one of the girls asked to drive, but Teran again declined.

At one point, authorities said he swerved into opposing lanes on Varner Roadin Indio. The speedometer reached 70 mph, and one of the girls "repeatedly told Derren to slow down and his response each time was, 'No, I'm the best drunk driver,'" the document stated.

Near the Avenue 40 intersection, one of the girls heard Teran say "unicorn," and the Jeep zigzagged, struck a curb and overturned, ejecting Regalado, according to the court document.

The document describes "unicorn" as a driving game in which a driver must swerve to avoid striking an imaginary object.

At the scene, Teran reportedly told a police officer that he drank four or five alcoholic beverages before the crash, according to the document.

Regalado's parents said Teran and his family told them he crashed while trying to pick up a phone, and insisted he wasn't speeding, drinking or playing "unicorn."

Lebov acknowledged false information was presented after the crash.

He said the killing wasn't intentional, but it involved "stupidity that continued on for several days."

Victor Regalado Sr., 40, said the family is glad to have the legal proceedings come to an end.

"It's been a year and a half of memories that are still there," he said. "I don't know if closure was established."